US names 'outposts of tyranny'

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In an echo of President George Bush's "axis of evil,"
Condoleezza Rice today named Cuba, Burma, Belarus and Zimbabwe as
"outposts of tyranny" requiring close US attention.

Early in Bush's first term, he listed Iraq, Iran and North Korea
as part of an "axis of evil" in the post-September 11 era - the
United States later invaded Iraq, ousting longtime dictator Saddam
Hussein.

"To be sure, in our world there remain outposts of tyranny and
America stands with oppressed people on every continent ... in
Cuba, and Burma, and North Korea, and Iran, and Belarus, and
Zimbabwe," Rice told a Senate committee considering her nomination
to succeed Colin Powell as secretary of state.

A look at US tensions with the countries Rice named:

Belarus

President Alexander Lukashenko, first elected in 1994, has
stifled dissent and persecuted independent media and opposition
parties while prolonging his power through elections that
international organisations say were marred by fraud. The United
States has refused to recognise his election.

The United States has repeatedly criticised Lukashenko for
restricting freedom of speech, press and freedom of association and
assembly. The United States maintains close ties with the
opposition while seeking to foster democracy in the former Soviet
republic.

The Belarus government responded to Rice's remarks by saying she
was out of touch.

"False stereotypes and prejudices are a poor basis for the
formation of effective policy in the sphere of foreign relations,"
Savinykh said.

"We are certain that only constructive dialogue, based on common
sense and existing realties, will foster the normalisation of
relations between our countries."

Cuba

Cuban authorities have long said the US government is planning a
military attack on the island - something US officials deny.

US-Cuba relations, never good during Fidel Castro's four decades
of communist rule, have deteriorated further under the Bush
administration, which has toughened trade and travel regulations
and last year published a plan for a democratic Cuba after Castro's
eventual death.

The United States and Cuba have not had diplomatic relations
since shortly after Castro took power.

The US government has regularly criticised Cuba's round-up of 75
dissidents in 2003, and the State Department did so once again less
than 48 hours after Bush's re-election.

"The United States condemns the Cuban regime's abuse of
advocates of peaceful change and reform," State Department
spokesman Richard Boucher said on November 4.

"We call on the regime to cease its repression and release all
political prisoners."

Burma

Burma has been ruled by the military for more than four decades.
The regime is shunned by many Western countries, but the United
States has been one of the most aggressive in isolating it with
political and economic sanctions.

The United States accuses the junta of human rights abuses
including the use of slave labor and forced labor, and the
persecution of pro-democracy activists and ethnic minorities.

Washington has criticised the regime for failing to surrender
power in 1990 to the democratically elected party of Nobel Peace
laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, the opposition leader who has repeatedly
been put under house arrest.

Washington cut off almost all direct aid to Burma after the
military suppressed pro-democracy demonstrations in 1988, killing
hundreds, or even thousands of civilians.

Almost all US aid to Burma is prohibited and imports from the
country are banned. The United States uses its influence in the
World Bank and International Monetary Fund to block assistance to
the country, one of Southeast Asia's poorest.

Washington also says Burma is a major producer of illicit drugs.
After Afghanistan, it is the world's second biggest producer of
heroin.

Zimababwe

The United States says the government of President Robert
Mugabe, in a bid to remain in office at any price, has continued a
campaign of violence against the opposition and passed a series of
draconian security and media laws aimed at crushing political
dissent.

Washington contends Mugabe's security forces and ruling party
militias have killed, abducted, tortured, beaten, abused and raped
government opponents. It says the government also has beaten,
intimidated, arrested and prosecuted independent journalists.

Bush has imposed targeted sanctions against Mugabe, his
governing elite and some businessmen closely associated with him or
his party.

Mugabe claims the United States and Britain are working to bring
down the government and are responsible for political and economic
chaos in Zimbabwe.

The State Department said last year that some government
policies are "contributing to the deliberate breakdown in the rule
of law in Zimbabwe".